Me And You
by misspensandscribbles
Summary: Takes place after the airplane scene in 12x11 (Japril the Movie) where April and Jackson are on their way to Moline.
**Author's Note: There were quite a few negative feedback after 12x11 (Japril the Movie) aired. Personally, I thought the episode was great, except for one thing. Some reviews I read mentioned that in the flashbacks, April was out of character, and I thought that was particularly true in the airplane scene when they were flying to visit April's family. This is how I imagined what took place after that scene.**

* * *

"Jackson, why don't you lead us in prayer?" Joe Kepner asked his son-in-law as his whole family gathered around the dinner table.

Jackson froze. He knew this was coming. April told him as much on the flight there, but that only led to their first real fight as a married couple. They were both too busy being pissed at each other to actually agree on what they – or he – should do.

Looking at the expectant eyes of April's very devout Christian father, he knew it was too late to pull aside his wife and discuss a game plan. So with his heart pounding and his stomach turning, he opened his mouth and was about to say anything that he could think of, hoping that it would pass as a prayer, when April gently laid her hand on his lap.

He looked at her in surprise as she cleared her throat and said, "Actually, Dad, Jackson isn't the praying type." She turned to him and smiled before looking back at her dad, who was now exchanging suspicious glances with her mom. "But I can say grace."

Karen Kepner, however, wasn't prepared to drop the conversation just yet. "Sweetie, what do you mean he's not the praying type?" she asked in a curious tone that was already laced with judgment.

April sighed. Under the table, she took hold of Jackson's hand, offering the support they were both about to need. "I mean he doesn't share the same beliefs we do, Mom. He's an amazing and loving man who just happens to think God isn't for him."

 _Yet._ She stopped herself from saying it. As much as she wanted to voice out her hope that Jackson might still be able to find God, after their fight on the plane, she didn't want to agitate him any further.

During the ride from the airport to her parents' house, she realized that she was wrong to ask Jackson to do something that was completely against his character. She knew how much her parents would be upset with them, Jackson especially, for getting married in such a rash and controversial manner, and she let her nerves get the best of her. She thought that maybe if they see he was the kind of man they wanted for their daughter, they wouldn't be as disappointed in her and as hard on Jackson.

But if that were the case, she thought, she should've married Matthew instead. Matthew was everything Joe and Karen wanted in a man for their daughter. But then, looking back on the crazy and unexpected events that led her and Jackson to that very moment, she knew in her heart and soul that Jackson was everything _she_ wanted and loved. And that, she decided, should be enough for her parents.

"April Kepner, are you telling me that you left Matthew – a man who loves you and loves God – for someone who doesn't even think He is real?" her mom asked, incredulous.

Jackson inhaled deeply as he felt April tighten her grip on his hand before saying, "Mom, please, can we have this discussion some other time? We're both tired from the trip, and we just want to eat."

Joe put a hand on his wife's arm. "Karen, calm down."

"I will not calm down," April's mother snapped. Turning to her husband, she said, "Your daughter married an unbeliever _._ She ran off on her wedding day and married a... a heathen!"

April slammed her hand on the table and stood up. "Enough! Stop talking about my husband like he's the spawn of the devil. We're both sitting right here!"

Karen was stunned into silence. Never in her life did April stand up to her like that. Her sisters, who already saw this side of her on her bridal shower, started whispering to each other. And their husbands, well, their husbands tried to hide their smiles. They found this side of April incredibly amusing. Her father, Joe, just stared at her with an unreadable face.

"April, it's –" Jackson began to say.

"No, Jackson, it's not fine," she said, cutting him off. Turning to her mom, April continued, "I just knew... I knew the moment you found out he doesn't go to church or read the Bible, you're going to start judging him without even trying to get to know him. You know I asked him to pretend, to pray even though he's never prayed in his entire life? And he would've done it! He would've done it for me because he knows how much I want to please all of you. _That's_ what families do, Mom. And you know what? That alone makes him a better person than all of you combined!

After saying her peace, she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door. "Let's go."

"Where are we –"

"Burger King! I'm starving and I want to eat, but I can't eat with these... these hypocrites!" she yelled before slamming the front door shut.

She marched her way to her dad's truck only for her to realize that she didn't have the keys. So instead, she started pacing back and forth.

"Babe, calm down," Jackson soothed.

Turning to him with tears in her eyes, she shouted, "I can't! I'm hungry and my mom is being rude, and I shouldn't have even asked you to –"

"It's okay," he told her gently, holding her shoulders. "I get it now, why you asked."

"I'm so sorry. The things my mother said –"

" – are nothing compared to what my mother would say," he said, pecking her on the lips.

April's eyes widened in terror. "Oh my God, your mother! Jackson, we are going to die. My mom's gonna kill you with a shotgun, and your mother, well, she's just gonna kill me with her death stare."

"No, they won't because if we don't eat anything by tonight we'll both starve to death. Seriously, April, I can literally eat you right now," he quipped.

She pouted and smacked him in the arm, but he could see her shoulders relax a bit. Putting his hand on her hips, Jackson pulled his wife closer to him and kissed the top of her head.

"We'll be fine. I promise," he said.

Closing her eyes, April smiled as she nodded. She put her arms around his neck and said, "Burger King's a 20-minute walk from here. You think your stomach can survive that long?"

"As long as there's a Triple Whopper Sandwich waiting for me there, yes, I will survive," he answered her with a grin.

She laughed as they held hands and started walking. "Dinner is on me tonight. It's the least I can do to make up for... that," she said as she gestured back to the house.

Leaning his head close to hers, he whispered in her ear, "I can think of a better way you can make up it up to me."

"Really? What's that?" she asked as she batted her eyes innocently at him.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, I don't know... Talk to your mom when we get back," he answered nonchalantly.

It wasn't the answer she thought she was going to get. The last thing she expected Jackson to suggest was to make peace with the people who, just moments ago, called him a heathen. She wasn't sure if he was joking or not.

Seeing her shocked and confused reaction, Jackson laughed. "We'll both talk to her, okay?"

"But Jackson –"

"Once she sees how much I love her daughter, she's not even going to remember the fact that Jesus and I aren't homeboys," he smirked. "Either that or I can just use my charming good looks to get her to like me."

She laughed again. "Oh, Jackson, you are so full of yourself."

"That didn't stop you from marrying me though," he countered.

She looked at him and smiled. "No, it didn't."

"Me and you?" he asked her, a twinkle in his beautiful green eyes.

April squeezed his hand. "Me and you."

For a while, they walked on in silence, hands held together and with so much hope for the future. Their marriage started out rocky, they knew, but that didn't stop them from basking in their marital bliss. No matter what kind of reaction they would get from other people, they knew they had each other. And that was more than enough for them.

"Are we there yet? I'm starved."

April smacked him in the arm. "You're a child."


End file.
